Boat cover



'F.- D. BURNS BOAT COVER Filed Jan. 9, 1946- June 21, 1949.

T I J II\ II II II II IIJ Patented June 21, 1949 N 1 TED srArEs- PATENT? dam BOAT COVER;

FrankD; Burns,-.Muskegon, Mich;

Application Januaryil, 1946, SerialNo. 639,956fl 6 Claims (01. 135-6) This invention-relates to boat covers and more particularly to removable'povers for relatively small boats such as lifeboats, sailboats and thecover after the cover has been attached to the boat.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a boat covered according to the present invention with a part of the cover broken away;

Figure 2 is an enlarged partial section taken axially of the boat with the supporting member in lowered position; and

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 with the supporting member in elevated position.

As shown in the drawing, the cover is adapted to cover a small skifl' or the like having a hull Ill provided with one or more transversely extending seats I I, at least one of which extends across the central portion of the hull. The top of the hull is open or at least partially open, as shown, and terminates in an upper edge which may be beaded or reinforced, as shown at l 2.

The cover comprises a sheet of canvas or like flexible material I3 of a size and shape to fit over the top of the boat with its edge portion extending over the reinforced or beaded edge l2 of the boat. The edge portion of the cover may carry tie cords [4 which may be tied at one or more points around the boat to secure the cover thereto. When the cords I4 are tied, as shown in Figure 1, the edge of the cover sheet will be drawn tightly around the edge of the boat to hold the cover securely in place on the boat.

The central portion of the cover is preferably reinforced by a stiffening member 15 which may be in the form of a light board fitting into a pocket formed on the interior of the cover. The stiffening member I5 is preferably relatively short and relatively narrow and lies-*in-the central-part of the cover.

To 'hold the cover supportedin taut condition above the edgeyoftheboa-t; a supporting'element in the form of a springisprovidedfi As shown; the supporting "element *comprises' a leaf-spring- Ifi generally -S-shaped and terminating at one end in lowered-position as shown in Figure-2." When the springis -in-thispositionythe cover may rest against its outerend but-willbe relatively slack so that it can easilybedrawnover-the edge 'of the boat hull and securedin place'.

To tighten-the cover'after'it has been secured" to the hull, a cord or rope I8 is connected-to the outer end of the spring strap I6 and extends through an opening in the cover adjacent one end of the boat. The opening through which the cord I 8 extends may conveniently be formed by a grommet to prevent wearing and tearing on the cover sheet. When the cord I8 is pulled forward, as shown in Figure '3, the spring It will be swung to an upright position in which its upper end engages the stiffening strip IS in the central part of the cover. Due to the shape of the spring, it will be vertically resilient so that the cover will be held taut without requiring exact fit of the cover and exact spring size. When the cord has been drawn forward, it may be tied to any convenient projecting part of the boat, as shown in Figure 1.

With this construction one person can easily install the cover on a boat, simply by first attaching the spring to a seat, then placing the cover sheet over the boat and finally drawing the spring to an upright position through the cord Hi. When installed, the cover sheet will be held in taut position above the boat to keep water and other foreign materials out of the boat.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail herein, it will be understood that it is illustrative only and is not intended as a definition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for that purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A boat cover comprising a flexible sheet adapted to overlie a boat and to be fastened at its edge portion to the boat, a resilient element formed adjacent one end for attachment to the central part of a boat and shaped normally to lie in a generally horizontal position when it is attached in the boat, and a cord connected to the other end of the resilient element and extending through the sheet to pull the element to a generally vertical position in engagement with the central part of the sheet.

2. A boat cover comprising a flexible sheet adapted to overlie a boat and to be fastened at its edge portion to the boat, an elongated spring member formed at one end to be attached to the central part of the boat and shaped normally to lie in a generally horizontal position in the boat, and a cord connected to the free end of the spring member and extending through the sheet to swing the spring member into generally vertical position in engagement with the central portion of the sheet.

3. A boat cover comprising a flexible sheet adapted to overlie a boat and to be fastened at its edge portion to the boat, an elongated spring strip formed at one end to hook over a seat in the central part of the boat, the spring being 8- shaped and being so formed that it Will lie generally horizontal when said one end is hooked over a boat seat, and a cord connected to the other endof the strip and extending through the sheet to pull the strip into'an upright position in engagement with the central part of the sheet.

4. A boat cover comprising a flexible sheet adapted to overlie a boat and to be fastened at its edge portion to the boat, a spring member formed to be laterally and longitudinally resilient, means at one end of the spring to connect it to a central part of the .boat to lie in a generally horizontal position, and a cord connected to the other end of the spring and extending through the sheet to pull the spring to an upright position in engagement with the central part of the sheet.

5. A boat cover comprising a flexible sheet adapted to overlie a boat and to be fastened at its edge portion to the boat, a stiffening member substantially shorter and narrower than the sheet carried by the central portion of the sheet, a spring member formed at one end for attachment to a central part of the boat and shaped normally to lie in a generally horizontal position, and a cord connected to the other end of the spring member and extending through thesheet to swing the spring member to an upright position in engagement with the stiffening member.

6. A boat cover comprising a flexible sheet adapted to overlie a boat and to be fastened at its edge portion to the boat, a stiflening member substantially shorter and narrower than the sheet carried by the central portion of the sheet, an elongated spring strip formed at one end to hook over a central seat in the boat, the spring being S-shaped and being so formed that it will lie generally horizontal when said one end is hooked over a boat seat, and a cord connected to the other end of the strip and extending through the sheet to pull the strip to an upright position in engagement with the stiffening member.

FRANK D. BURNS.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

